Lindsey Vonn Was Freaking Out During Her Last Race

Lindsey Vonn Was Freaking Out During Her Last Race

Lindsey Vonn admits she was super nervous before, during and even after her last race.

Those nerves turned to a Bronze medal when she took 3rd place in the race.

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Lindsey Vonn Was Freaking Out During Her Last Race

LINDSEY VONN: Myself down.

I was like completely freaking out the whole time.

From the moment I woke up until the moment I got to the finish, I was so nervous.

I mean, way more nervous than I was for the Olympics, even.

Because I knew that this was my last race, obviously, and I wanted to finish strong.

I've had such a long career, and it's hard-- I don't want to sum up my career in one race.

But I also didn't want it to be a letdown.

I didn't want my last race to be like, oh, OK, well, that's a bummer and now it's time to retire.

I wanted to be uplifting and be positive.

And I think all things considered, with my crash in November and the crash a few days before.

There's been many crashes, but I think all things considered, a bronze was really amazing, and it's probably one of my proudest moments as an athlete.

- Absolutely.

Have you re-watched that run?

LINDSEY VONN: Yeah, I did a couple of times.

There were a couple of mistakes, but all in all, it was a pretty solid run.

I was pretty pleased.

- And take me through that feeling, too, because when you cross the finish line, the love coming from all the fans there was overwhelming.

You had this huge smile on your face, and I felt overwhelmed just looking at how much support you had in that moment.

LINDSEY VONN: It was incredible.

I mean, the fans were amazing.

They were so accepting, and to have Ingemar Stenmark, who has the record for wins of any skier of 86, he was there.

I basically begged him.

I texted him to please come to my last race because it would be so meaningful to me.

And he was there in the finish with a bouquet of flowers, and gave me a hug, and the fans were cheering and my family was there, and my dog was there.

And it was just such an incredible moment.

And I got so many hugs and compliments from my peers, from fellow competitors.

And I think that was honestly the most meaningful thing to me because a lot of times you're competing with others, and it's a rivalry sometimes, and you don't always know if they actually respect you, or what they actually think about you.

And the support and positivity that I've gotten from them was just overwhelming.

And honestly I didn't expect it.

And it makes me feel good that I feel like I've left a legacy that I can be proud of.